Mid-June Friday Afternoon Links

by | Jun 20, 2025 | Cocktails, Daily Links, I Am Lame | 66 comments

That was a nice week of spring weather, but now spring is over, and I’ll likely break down and turn on the AC this weekend. The girlfriend and I have been trying out Sunderfolk, a couch co-op which utilizes smart phones/tablets as the input device. We’re still just in the demo, but there’s some potential there. The custom names for items can be both a blessing and a curse.

Let’s start with a public service announcement. I had figured this had already wended its way through you lot, but apparently not.

There has been an announcement about Spaceballs 2. For all of you actually hopeful about it, I ask you to make it through just one episode of the Animated Series.

Local politician mercilessly attacks Joe Biden!

It appears that luck is on my side for once, I was just able to get into there this year for my tickets.

Bans and tariffs on telenovellas? I’ve heard worse ideas.

[This link intentionally left blank]

“Math is hard!” On a slightly serious note, I did get my niece a connected Barbie toy when she was a kid. From memory, you could load a specific name, and it would use it in pre-programmed activities. But she loved it.

Oh no. Anyways…

The Tick already answered this.

Due to Heroic Mulatto, I understand this headline. I kind of wish I didn’t.

I demand they have a lisp!

When Kotaku is calling out your messaging as bad…

I don’t want REGULAR remakes/reboots.

It’s always in the last place you look.

Because overpriced concessions is what people missed from the movie going experience.

There’s no violence on the left wing!

Leaning on that last link. A long read, which confirms many of my biases, but I want to believe.

I saw these in a store, and thought that blatant lies to children was frowned upon.

I’ll continue with some summer drinks with this week’s cocktail:

Bicicletta

  • 3 parts (3 oz) dry white wine [chilled]
  • 2 parts (2 oz) Campari
  • Club soda

Grab a chilled wine glass or double rocks glass, add your wine and Campari, then add ice to fill it about three quarters of the way full, top with club soda, and give a brief stir to combine. If you want to garnish it, go with some orange wheels.

Let’s hope you all have a Super Rad weekend.

About The Author

Nephilium

Nephilium

Nephilium is a geek of multiple types living in the vast suburban forests of Cleveland.

66 Comments

  1. Sensei

    Due to Heroic Mulatto, I understand this headline. I kind of wish I didn’t.

    The game itself seem like a reasonable shoot and and hack them up.

    • SDF-7

      I haven’t made it to that link yet… but that makes it sound like a Serial Killer game… “shoot ’em and hack ’em up!”

      • Sean

        Speaking of which…Dexter is coming back.

    • Nephilium

      Yeah, the game itself seems fine. The shocking thing that guys like games with attractive women, and would like to see those women naked is not new. For fuck’s sake, the rumors of a nude code for Tomb Raider caused many teens to waste a lot of time to see triangle tits.

      • The Other Kevin

        At one point we found a skin editor for one of the Quake games, and my buddy made a female topless character. When you clicked the “taunt” button and she shook her boobs at you it was something.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Looks at mods for Bethesda games….

        Ya, guys like tits, virtual or real

    • R C Dean

      “the entirety of discourse surrounding it is about the main character’s butt”

      Yet the article neglects to, err, illustrate the main point.

  2. SDF-7

    Let’s start with a public service announcement. I had figured this had already wended its way through you lot, but apparently not.

    Okay…. I don’t use Google for searching in the first place, which is why I didn’t know about it, I suppose.

    • Drake

      Google is my 6th choice if I can’t find something. Even though I’m typing this from a Google phone.

  3. Sensei

    What we learned the last time we put AI in a Barbie

    Life in plastic, it’s fantastic?

    • SDF-7

      Just keep Barbie away from sliding doors or you’ll have a quantum duplicate to deal with.

    • Nephilium
    • Yusef drives a Kia

      I love that song, my daughter played the shit out of it, 30 years ago….

  4. SDF-7

    There has been an announcement about Spaceballs 2

    I take Mel at his word — this is “The Soich for More Money”… and I care about it at a level according to that.

    • Tonio

      Merchandising!

    • Ownbestenemy

      Couple things that make me wanna see it. Rick Moranis coming out of retirement and ‘we aint found shit’ guy demanding to be in it might be worth it.

      Now have Sydney Sweeny as Princess Vespa’s daughter and we can talk.

  5. The Late P Brooks

    And now I’m thinking about the commando Barbies (not that commando, you preverts) in Small Soldiers.

  6. SDF-7

    On a slightly serious note, I did get my niece a connected Barbie toy when she was a kid. From memory, you could load a specific name, and it would use it in pre-programmed activities. But she loved it.

    As long as it isn’t Daddy getting Life Sized Connected Barbie and ditching his girlfriend and daughter…

    Alternately — Megan!

  7. EvilSheldon

    Bicicletta

    3 parts (3 oz) dry white wine [chilled]
    2 parts (2 oz) Campari
    Club soda

    Grab a chilled wine glass or double rocks glass, add your wine and Campari, then add ice to fill it about three quarters of the way full, top with club soda, and give a brief stir to combine. If you want to garnish it, go with some orange wheels.

    This sounds like a good drink for lounging around my buddy’s swimming pool on Saturday. And I have way too much Campari in the liquor cabinet at the moment…

    • Nephilium

      Would be a decent cocktail to batch too. 3 bottles of wine, 2 bottles of Campari, and a lot of club soda. 🙂

      • EvilSheldon

        I might do just that. Prep a quart or two in mason jars, and stash them in the cooler with the Margarita fixings…

    • Akira

      That sounds like a damn good drink. I love Campari, although my friends think I’m fucking nasty for drinking it. Their issue is they took a sip undiluted, thought it was gross, and refuse to believe that it could taste good in any preparation.

      I like it just with club soda and an orange slice, not to mention all the cocktails.

  8. Shpip

    Today, the Cleveland Browns announced the launch of “Dawg Pound XL”, a season-long initiative that will highlight the history of the Dawg Pound and the fans, moments and legends that brought it to life 40 years ago.

    So, they sprung up two decades late to see the team be great in the Otto Graham / Jim Brown days, just in time to have their hearts broken by Elway and company, and then had seats from afar as the squad moved east and started winning championships again.

    And people say that peak Cleveland doesn’t exist…

    • Nephilium

      We have yet to reach peak Cleveland. This season hasn’t even started yet.

      • Ted S.

        Partnering with Jardiance Lady and Lizzo, it’s Dawg Pound Extra Large!

      • Nephilium

        Ted S.:

        I’m a fat middle aged man, and I look slim compared to most of the guests of the G PODAWUND.

  9. SDF-7

    The Tick already answered this.

    True — but I think the Christopher Reeve Superman did a great job with making people believe it too. His mannerisms as Clark vs. Kal El made you believe that no one would think twice about poor shy, bumbling Clark — just the scene in Lois’s apartment when he considers telling her then backs out… Reeve made you believe it.

    • Nephilium

      Yeah, same as we’ve had some great actors showcase the difference between Batman and Bruce Wayne. Still waiting for a live action show to do the Peter Parker/Spider-man dichotomy (which has been done to death in comics and animation).

  10. SDF-7

    Due to Heroic Mulatto, I understand this headline. I kind of wish I didn’t.

    I confess given the good press (and not for Q or HM reasons… I swear!) I gave the demo a shot.

    And quickly decided that as my gut instinct told me — the time for me to play twitchy combat games is long past. Even in “Story Mode”. I’ll survive without buxom androids (wait… are we talking AI Barbie again?)

  11. SDF-7

    I don’t want REGULAR remakes/reboots.

    I will only accept them in this form. Because that at least would show some care and effort.

  12. Rat on a train

    I am thankful DMV has appointments now. I bypassed the line and was out of there in 10 minutes.

    • Tonio

      Thanks for the heads up.

    • The Other Kevin

      Indiana DMV’s have been great for years. At select locations you can also pick up fireworks from a stand in the parking lot.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Coming from LA area and Las Vegas….

        Here in NKY, DMV actually has helpful, kind folk doing government business. In and out.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      I thought the whole state was in the DMV? Why would you need an appointment to go home?

  13. The Late P Brooks

    Predatory

    BYD, China’s top producer of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, is offering Brazilian car shoppers relatively low-priced options in a market where the green-car movement is still in its infancy. Brazilian auto-industry officials and labor leaders worry that the vast influx of cars from BYD and other Chinese automakers will set back domestic auto production and hurt jobs.

    ——-

    Industry and labor groups say China is taking advantage of Brazil’s temporarily low tariff barriers to ramp up its exports rather than investing to build Brazilian factories and create jobs. They are lobbying Brazil’s government to accelerate by a year a plan to increase Brazil’s tariff on all EV imports to 35% from 10%, rather than gradually phasing in higher levies.

    What portion of Brazil has the electric grid to support those EVs?

  14. Shpip

    Apparently Iran launched 150 ballistic missiles at Israel, and a whopping nine landed near their targets.

    Which invited the inevitable (and deliciously mean-spirited) meme.

    Derka Derka Butter Pecan… BAAAAANG!!!

    • kinnath

      It shames me to see what they did there

      • The Other Kevin

        That’s the big question. It’s much more difficult expensive to shoot down a crappy missile with a poor guidance system than to launch one. Iran may be hoping Israel runs out of interceptors, then throw a huge volley. Or Israel may have to rely on the US Navy to shoot them down. And it’s probably why Israel is pushing the US to join and get it over with before it comes to that.

      • Ownbestenemy

        I think Oct 8 shifted military stance. So im guessing they stockpiled enough for a sustsined campaign.

        No other actors joining probably helped

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Ugh, they are Jews, they have plenty of gold!

      • dbleagle

        The US Navy and US Army have been actively shooting down missiles and UAVs aimed at Israel since at least last fall. But many of Israel’s neighbors have shot down missiles and UAVs on Israel’s behalf as well. Every so often some Euro nations take a few shots from time to time.

        Offensive fires are an entirely different kettle of fish.

        USA stay away, okay?

    • Yusef drives a Kia

      Silly man…..

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Yes, I’m sure the Israelis are being up front about how many missiles landed close to or on what. But maybe they are. Who the hell knows but take it all with a boulder of salt no matter which side it comes from.

  15. Ownbestenemy

    Operation Narnia: Because apparently the wardrobe isn’t just for hiding from talking lion, it’s also for sneaking into people’s bedrooms. Next time, can we just stick to diplomacy and free trade? Or is that too radical a fairy tale for modern states?

  16. The Late P Brooks

    So wearying

    Since the 2018 founding of their full-service, luxury beauty and fashion-focused agency, Graham and General Idea co-founders Ian Schatzberg and Semjon Doenhoff have always centered diversity, equity and inclusion. The five leaders that make up General Idea’s C-suite all identify as LGBTQ+.

    Graham sees large companies’ decrease in support for Pride and LGBTQ+ initiatives as a chance for small businesses to increase their own efforts.

    “There’s a real opportunity to be leaders,” Graham explains, “because as the bigger companies and especially the publicly traded companies have had to turn down the volume [on their LGBTQ+ initiatives], it creates a real, new opportunity this year, and probably for the next several years to come.”

    Ten bucks is ten bucks. If you can fill a need, more power to you. Why feel the need to put a frilly social justice dress on it?

    • Evan from Evansville

      “Why feel the need to put a frilly social justice dress on it?”

      They sell the happy feelgoodery of their product and brand.

    • Suthenboy

      Private company? Not my money? Not forcing me to do anything? Ok. Cool, good luck to them.

  17. Timeloose

    Dynasonic, the superhero with the diabetes.

    Is her super power the ability to give you the sugar foot?

    What’s next a superhero named Crohnons with the power of the brown note?

    • Ownbestenemy

      Sheep skin and some straws and could be a walking bag pipe

  18. The Late P Brooks

    General Idea is a certified member of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), which includes annual membership fees to support their network of initiatives. The agency has also made donations to the Transgender Law Center for several years and continues to support LGBTQ+ causes in 2025 through donations to Ali Forney Center, which provides life-saving services to LGBTQ+ youths, and SAGE, a national advocacy and services organization that looks out for LGBTQ+ elders.

    Graham says leaders should not only communicate company values outwardly but also show their teams and organizations why it’s so important to stand up for their beliefs.

    With us or against us. Hive mind uber alles.

  19. The Late P Brooks

    “Diversity [brings] the best ideas, the most forward-thinking ideas,” Graham explains. “Ultimately, as marketers, our goal is to speak to a diverse range of customers. We didn’t set out to necessarily create an LGBTQ+ C-suite, but at the same time, it felt like a snowball effect. The people that we got to know and decided to bring into the agency and elevate into running their departments happened to be diverse in that regard, and it’s worked really well for us.”

    We are all uniformly diverse.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    Massacre at the Propaganda Corral

    Senior White House adviser Kari Lake issued mass layoff notices Friday to 639 employees of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the federal outlet which owns the Voice of America and through which Congress directs money for other government-funded international networks, such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia.

    The vast majority of the job cuts, intended to be a permanent reduction in the size of the workforce, affects Voice of America, the government-owned international network that has beamed news reports to countries under autocratic regimes since World War II.

    In a press release, Lake called her action “part of a long-overdue effort to dismantle a bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy.” She said 85% of jobs, or 1,400 positions, had been eliminated in total, in keeping with an executive order in mid-March from President Trump.

    How will the downtrodden victims of capitalism get their news?

    • Akira

      When they discuss Voice of America, the assumption is always that it’s just “news”, not pro-US regime propaganda.

    • Raven Nation

      ““I do say it to cab drivers that are from, like, Hispanic descent, I’m like, ‘don’t talk to the police.’”

      1. I agree with the last statement
      2. Bigot. The correct term is Latino
      3. Way to assume everyone who’s Latino is illegal

    • Ownbestenemy

      “We need a public justice, I think. That’s really what we need. We need a healthy dose of public justice.”

      Well…at least we can find common ground in method, just not execution or reasoning.

  21. rhywun

    “Why don’t we just get out of that business completely, let the private sector run it?”

    You know why.